Extensible roller skate



March s, 1960 c, EJQQES EI'AL 2,921,797

EXTENSIBLE ROLLER SKATE Filed May 2, 1958 INVENTORS.

Car/es Z Jana-9 .physical limits of its construction.

2,927,797 u EXTENSIBLE ROLLER SKATEJ Charles E. Jones, Chicago, and William G. Crowle, Berwyn, ,Ill., assignors to*Manning Manufacturing Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 2, 1958, Serial No. 732,478 2 Claims. (Cl. 280-1116) Thisapplication isv acontinuation-in part of our copending application Serial No. ,600,218, filed July 25, 1956, now .Patent Number 2,841,405, issued July 1,

The invention relates to improvements in skates and is more, particularly concerned with the novel construcgtionsand assembly. of the .to'eand heel portions thereof.

The roller skate disclosed herein is fabricated for the most part from tough nylon plastic. or'o'ther suitable wear resisting 'rnoldableplastic material. Th e;skate con- .siSts of aminimum ofparts all of which are easily and quickly .assembledinsuch manner that the skate may be adjusted readily through .arange' of sizes within the More particularly, the skate includes a toe portion and a heel portion, each .of which is molded and reinforced in anovel manner .to withstand considerable abuse to which such parts are ordinarily subjected. -Each portion also has molded or otherwise formed integral therewith, a journalboss in which is. mounted an, axle for a pair of wheels having novel bearing meansl' The two skate portions arejoined for size adjustment .toward and away from each other by a novel bridging channelbar which is sIidabIyguided ineach portion and has novel means associated with it and with said portions to secure, said portions thereto in any selected position of adjustment. Furthermore, the channel bar is preferably of metaland it is so associated with the portions as to coact with various surfaces ofsaid portions to reinforce the structure and thus further .strengthenthe molded plastic toe andheel portions. 7

It is therefore one of the objects of the present inventionjto provide a rugged novelly constructed skate of the character described.

Another object is to provide askate with novelly constructed molded toe and heel. portions having integral journal bosses.

Another object is to provide a skate of the character described with novel means connecting the toe and heel portions for adjustment, which means functions toreinforeethe saideportionsland the joprnal bosses integral therewith,

'Another object is to proyidenovelly constructed journal bosses, i

Another object is to provide anovel construction for mounting a wheel on an axle.

With the foregoing and tsuch other objects in View which will appear'as the description proceeds, the. in-

.vention consists of certain. novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims; it being understood that various changes in form, proportion, size and minor details of thestructure may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

For. the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its mode of construction, assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciate 'Re-ferring to the drawings in'which the same char- 2,927,797 Patent d Ma 8,4

,acters of reference areemployed to indicate corresponding or similar parts; throughout the several figures of the d awin Fig. 1 is a plan view of aroller skate,- embodying the invention.

Fig. Zi inverted plan view. Fig. 3 is alongitudinalsection view taken on of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4is a transverse sectional view taken on-line, 4-:4

mags

iQ F

- Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side ,elevational .view. of'the front end of the toe portion, on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the channel bar. Re er to t e ac ompa y g r n s. the "rolle -skate illustrated lcornprises a heel portion 5 and a toe gportion o connected for adjustment, asto skate size,

hy. a novel bridging channel bar 7. Each ofthe portions 5 and 6, is fabricated from suitable moldable material .such as nylon plastic so as to be very durable and wear resisting while maintaining a sumcient amount of resilience to resist breakage, chipping, etc.

As illustrated, the toe portion 6.is fabricated in one fiece and it includes a top-wall-8 having a surrounding downwardly extending perimeter flange and a pair of longitudinally extending spaced parallel, webs 311 on its ihottomface. The webs '11 and'the top wall 8 define an inverted longitudinal channel'betweenthern thatopens through the perimeter fiange, ,-vvhich is cut away :to provide .a portion 9a of reduced width, onto the Ireariwardly disposed edge of the toev portion. The toe portion dalso carries an integral journal boss 12 .In order to permit the entire toe portion to, be molded or cast in walls i516, respectively. The end walls 14 are integral with the connected webs 11 .and the front wall 15 extends to and is integral with the top wall .8 thus affordingathree wall connection between said boss and said top wall. The .rear wall 16.0f said boss has aslotted opening 17 in registering alignment with the inverted cha 'nnel between the webs 11 and a plurality of vertically ,disposed-protuberances or ribs 18 are formed on the inside facesof the end walls 14. These ribs terminate in line with the lower edge 19 of the slot 1.7 in the back wall fora purpose to be explained presently. The journal for free rotation.

The heel portion 5 is also fabricated of'the samen a- ,terial and-in a manner similar to the toe-portion. It in cludes a top .wall 23 having an upstanding arcuate heel stop 24 formed of two material thicknesses 24a-e24b, with a space 25 therebetween, which opens into a slot on each end. The outer wall 24b of this heel stop preferably extends below the planev of the top wall 23 and merges with a depending perimeter flange 27 on said top wall. Also form'edintegral with the bottom face of the top Wall 23 are a pair of laterally spaced parallel we bs 28 defining with said top, wall an inverted longitudinal channel 29, between them that opens onto the forward edgeof the heel portion through a cut away portion 27a in the perimeter, flange 27. A hollow journal boss 31 also is formed integral with the heel portion 5 and, as shown,'this boss depends from the bottom face of the top wall;

The end walls 32 of the hollow journal boss 31' are integral with the spaced webs 28 and the front and back walls 33 and 34 respectively, terminate substantially in the plane of the bottom edges of the webs 28 so as to leave, between the upper edges of said walls 33 and 34, and the bottom surface of'the top wall 23, aligned openings 35 in register with the inverted longitudinal channel 29. The end walls 32 have integral protuberances or ribs 36 on their inside faces which also terminate at their upper ends substantially in the plane of the lower edges of the openings 35 for a purpose to be made apparent presently. The journal boss 31 provides a mounting for an axle 37 mounting a pair of back wheels 38 in a novel manner for free rotation.

As noted hereinabove, the heel portion and the toe portion are connected together for longitudinal adjustment toward and away from each other by a bridging channel bar 7. The channel bar 7 is fabricated from sheet metal stock, preferably extruded aluminum, and it is of a width to fit snugly into the longitudinal channels between the pairs of webs 11 and 28 on the respective portions 6 and and into the bosses 12 and 31. As is best shown in Fig. 6, the channel bar 7 includes an intermediate portion 41 and upwardly extending downwardly opening longitudinal ribs 42. The ribs 42 are of sufficient depth to permit the channel bar to fit snugly between the bottom surface of the top walls 8 and 23 and the related upper edges of the respective walls 16, 33 and 34 and ends of the ribs 1836 so as to thereby absorb some of the stress imposed upon the journal bosses 12 and 31.

Each portion 5 and 6 of the skate preferably has a protuberance 43 depending from its top wall of sufiicient length to abut the intermediate portion 41 of the channel bar 7 for receiving a self taping screw 44 that projects through a slot 45 in the related end of said channel bar. These screws afford means for securing the skate portions 5 and 6 and channel bar 7 adjusted relative to each other. The structure and assembly alfords multiple points of contact on diiferent planes between the two portions 5 and 6 and the channel bar 7 so as to insure utmost rigidity to the assembly.

As noted hereinabove, front and back pairs of wheels 22 and 38 are mounted on the axles 21 and 37 respectively. The structure and mounting of each wheel is identical and the following description, applied to the front wheel assembly shown in Fig. 4, is full applicable to the back wheel assembly. The axle 21 has knurled end portions that project out through the end walls of the boss and have press-fitted thereon, nylon bearings 46 that are externally flanged, as at 47. Prior to pressfitting the bearings 46 onto the axle ends, a wheel 22 is fitted over each bearing 46. In this manner the wheels 22 are mounted for free rotation on the bearings 46 and each is retained against axial shifting by the flange 47 on one side and by the boss on its other side. The wheels 22 preferably are fabricated also from nylon plastic so as to be long Wearing and to resist breakage, although they may be made of any other suitable material.

The skate is adapted to be held removably on the shoe of the wearer by means of an ankle strap 48 and a toe strap 49. The ankle strap is threaded through the slots in the ends of the double walled heel stop 24. The toe strap 49 is specially formed to be engaged detachably with the toe portion 6 in front of the journal boss 12 thereon. It will be observed that the strap 49 includes a relatively wide intermediate portion 51 and narrow end portions 52, one of which carries a buckle 53 and the other of which is suitably perforated to co-act with the buckle. The wide intermediate portion 51 of said strap is disposed beneath the toe portion and is cut away, as at 54, to accommodate the journal boss 12. It is also formed with laterally opposed notches 55 that are so spaced as to register with cut-back recesses 56 on the side edges of laterally aligned notches 57 formed in the side portion of the perimeter flange 9 of the toe portion (Fig. 5). This arrangement is such that the toe strap 49 may be easily and quickly snapped into and out of engagement with the notches 57 and, when engaged,

is held against displacement and loss.

It is believed that the invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from-the foregoing without further description and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of variation within the purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A skate comprising a heel and a toe portion each having a top wall, said portions being arranged end to end, a pair of laterally spaced parallel longitudinal webs integral with and depending from the bottom face of each top wall, the webs on each portion defining with the respective top wall inverted channels, said channels opening onto the opposed ends of said portions, wheel-carrying hollow journal bosses on each portion, said bosses each including parallel side walls integral with a respective pair of webs, a connecting bar extending between said portions and havings its ends telescoped into the channels and into the bosses, means to secure the at to the top walls for adjustment of the portions relative to said bar, spaced vertically extending reinforcing ribs on the opposed inside faces of the side walls of said bosses terminating at their upper ends in the plane of the bottom edges of said webs to define upwardly facing shoulders in abutment with the bar so as to transmit the load carried by the journal bosses to said bar, and a heel stop on the heel portion comprised of an upstanding wall integral with the top wall thereof and a depending wall spaced from the upstanding wall and integrally connected at its upper edge to the upper edge of the upstanding wall, at least one of said walls being arched laterally and both defining an inverted channel open at each of its ends to receive an ankle strap threaded therebetween, and means formed in the toe portion to secure a toe strap thereon.

2. A skate comprising a heel and a toe portion each having a top wall, said portions being arranged end to end, a pair of longitudinal channels on the bottom face of each top wall opening onto the opposed ends of said portions, a wheel-carrying hollow journal boss on each portion, said bosses each including side walls integral with the respective top walls, a connecting bar e tending between said portions and having its ends telescoped into the channels, means to secure the bar to the top walls for adjustment of the portions toward and away from each other, spaced vertical ribs on the opposed inside faces of said'side walls reinforcing said walls and defining upwardly facing shoulders in abutment with the bar so as to transmit the load carried by the journal bosses to said bar, and a heel stop on the heel portion comprised of an upstanding wall integral with the top wall thereof and a depending wall spaced from the upstanding wall and integrally connected at its upper edge to the upper edge of the upstanding wall, said walls extending laterally and defining an inverted channel open at each of its ends to receive an ankle strap threaded therebetween, and means in the toe portion to secure a toe strap thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 240,363 Barney Apr. 19, 1881 1,562,124 Rautenberg Nov. 17, 1925 1,566,609 Larsen Dec. 22, 1925 1,588,676 Gravely June 15, 1926 1,597,213 Staples Aug. 24, 1926 1,673,405 Davis June 12, 1928 1,749,139 Joslin Mar 4, 1930 1,910,193 Ware May 23, 1933 2,841,405 Jones et al. July 1, 1958 

